VARK^® Modalities
What do Visual, Aural, Read/write & Kinesthetic really mean?

The acronym VARK stands for the four VARK modalities – Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic – sensory modalities that are used for learning information. In the article that launched VARK, Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested these four modalities that seem to reflect the experiences of students and teachers. Although there is some overlap, they are defined as follows.

The Visual preference includes the depiction of information in maps, diagrams, charts, graphs, flow charts, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies, and other devices, that people use to represent what could have been presented in words. This mode could have been called Graphic (G) as that better explains what it covers!

It does NOT include still pictures or photographs of reality, movies, videos, or PowerPoint. It does include designs, white space, patterns, shapes, and the different formats that are used to highlight and convey information. When a whiteboard is used to draw a diagram with meaningful symbols for the relationship between different things that will be helpful for those with a Visual preference. It must be more than mere words in boxes – that would be helpful to those who have a Read/write preference.

The Visual Helpsheet provides examples of strategies that Visual learners like to use.

The Aural mode describes a preference for information that is “heard or spoken.” Learners who have this as their main preference report that they learn best from lectures, group discussions, radio, email, messaging, podcasts, speaking, and talking things through. Email is included here because, although it is text and could be included in the Read/write category (below), it is often chat-style with abbreviations, colloquial terms, slang, and non-formal language. The Aural preference includes talking out loud as well as talking to oneself. Often, people with this preference want to sort things out by speaking first, rather than sorting out their ideas and then speaking. They may say again what has already been said or ask an obvious and previously answered question. They have a need to say it themselves, and they learn by saying it – their way.

The Aural Helpsheet provides examples of strategies that Aural learners like to use.

The Read/write preference is for information displayed as words. This preference emphasizes text-based input and output – reading and writing in all its forms, but especially manuals, reports, essays, and assignments. People who prefer this modality are often addicted to PowerPoint, lists, diaries, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and words, words, words…

Note that most PowerPoint presentations and a lot of information online on sites such as Wikipedia are suited to those with this preference, as there is seldom an auditory channel or a presentation that uses Visual symbols.

Not surprisingly, many teachers and students have a strong preference for this mode. Being able to write well and read widely are attributes sought by employers of graduates.

The Read/write Helpsheet provides examples of strategies that Read/Write learners like to use.

People with a Kinesthetic preference learn best when ideas are connected to real-life experience. They like to understand how things work in practice, not just in theory.

This preference is often associated with learning by doing, but it is broader than that. Kinesthetic learners are drawn to examples, case studies, demonstrations, simulations, and practical applications. They want to see how information relates to real situations and how it can be used.

They often ask questions such as:

• How does this work in the real world?
• Can you show me an example?
• What would this look like in practice?
• How can I apply this?

Hands-on activities can be especially helpful, but so can stories, videos, demonstrations, and descriptions of real experiences. The key feature is that the information is grounded in reality rather than being abstract or theoretical.

When learning something new, people with a Kinesthetic preference often benefit from practice, experimentation, working through examples, and connecting ideas to their own experiences.

It is possible to write or speak Kinesthetically if the topic is strongly based on reality. An assignment that requires the details of who will do what and when, is suited to those with this preference, as is a case study or a working example of what is intended or proposed.

The Kinesthetic Helpsheet provides examples of strategies that Kinesthetic learners like to use.

What about Mixtures? Multimodality (MM)

Life is multimodal. There are seldom instances where one mode is used or is sufficient, and around two-thirds of people have a multimodal preference – they usually like to use multiple VARK modalities.